a ball and stick model of a molecule formaldehyde is made from the following components one black ball one red ball two white balls and three sticks. What do the sticks represent? Would it be oxygen atoms between atoms, hydrogen atoms, or carbon atoms?

Answer 1

In the ball and stick model of a molecule, the "sticks" represent the chemical bonds between the atoms. In the case of formaldehyde (CH₂O), which consists of one carbon atom (represented by the black ball), two hydrogen atoms (represented by the white balls), and one oxygen atom (represented by the red ball), the three sticks would represent the bonds connecting these atoms together.

Specifically, in formaldehyde:

• The black ball (carbon) is bonded to the two white balls (hydrogens) by single bonds (one stick each).
• The black ball (carbon) is also bonded to the red ball (oxygen) by a double bond (which can be represented as two sticks between the carbon and the oxygen).

So, to answer your question, the sticks represent the chemical bonds between the atoms, not oxygen or hydrogen atoms themselves.